


Helping Prince Richard

by Impala_Chick



Category: Original Work
Genre: 15th Century, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Creepy, Gen, Ghosts, Kid Fic, M/M, Tourism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-28 21:36:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21143594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Impala_Chick/pseuds/Impala_Chick
Summary: Philip is 8 when he goes on a trip with his mom and dad to an old castle. He meets a new friend dressed in funny clothes. Something is definitely strange about him...





	Helping Prince Richard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eidetic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eidetic/gifts).

> Happy Halloween!

Philip can’t remember why his parents want to visit the old, crumbly castle. He just knows that the outside looks really huge and foreboding, and there are crawling green vines all over the front of it. 

Once they go inside, there is an old man in a sweater vest talking about even older people and swords and armor. He speaks as if the words are too thick for his mouth, so it is hard for Philip to understand what he's saying. The tour group they join is filled with people Philip doesn’t know and there are no other kids to talk to. His mom and dad seem really interested in whatever the tour guide is saying, so Philip doesn’t want to spoil their day by complaining. He slips to the back of the group instead and wanders around the hallway. He sees some weird paintings on the wall, so he stops and stands on his tiptoes to peer at them. 

There are pale white faces in the frames staring back at him. The ladies have huge white collars around their necks and the men are all wearing tights and holding swords. Philip likes the golds and greens and reds that pop out from the plush carpets and chairs behind the people, but the blank expressions on their faces make them look dead.

While he is standing in the hallway, a voice whispers in his ear.

“Come with me,” it says softly.

Philip feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he whips around. There is no one behind him. He realizes that the entire tour group has left him behind.

He hurries to catch up with them, suddenly feeling like he shouldn’t be alone. But as soon as he takes a step out of the hallway and into the next room, he feels something cold and clammy grab his arm. It reminds him of the way his mother’s hands feel after she washes them in the sink. He pulls away from the strange grip.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he hisses. He walks out of the hallway and this time, nothing stops him.

The hallway leads into some kind of book room. There are tall shelves with books everywhere, and a window with frosted glass panes. The barest hint of sunlight is entering the room so it’s still pretty dark. He feels a rush of air along his right side even though he knows the window is closed. It feels like someone just ran by him. He shivers and rushes out of the room.

He finds himself in a hallway made of stone. Philip strains to listen for the tour guide’s funny voice, but there is only silence.

It’s too cold. He can see his breath unfurling in front of him and he wraps his arms around himself. His Mom warned him not to warn off, but he was sure he’d heard someone talking to him. Now he feels alone, and he hates that feeling.

“It’s okay,” the voice says, louder this time. Philip turns around slowly.

There’s a boy standing in the hallway. Light filters through his body weirdly and Philip can nearly see all the way through him, even though it’s nearly dark outside. The boy looks like he’s around Philip’s age. He relaxes immediately, because he doesn’t think another boy would hurt him.

“I knew I heard someone!” He crows triumphantly. 

“Don’t be frightened of me,” the boy says with his hands on his hips. He’s wearing black tights and a frilly black long sleeved shirt, like the men in the pictures Philip looked at.

“Why is your body like that?” Philip says, pointing at his translucent skin. The boy frowns and Philip is reminded of how his mom always told him not to point at people. Philip lowers his finger and takes a step closer.

“I died,” the boy says quietly, like he’s embarrassed. He frowns and his forehead wrinkles. Philip feels guilty for making him sad. 

He doesn’t know much about dying, but when his cat died he never saw him again. He wonders why dying would make this boy look so weird. Maybe death is the reason he’s wearing such a weird outfit. But Philip figures it would be rude to ask about it.

“You don’t have to talk about that if you don’t want to,” Philip says.

“Thanks. You’re the first boy I’ve seen in awhile,” he says. Philip notices the way he folds his hands together in front of his body and does not smile. It seems like he must have been raised to be very polite. So Philip mirrors his body language, and doesn’t come any closer.

“I’m Philip. What’s your name?” 

“Prince Richard.” He holds his head up high as he says it, and his eyes are unblinking as he looks at Philip. It should be unnerving, but Philip figures Prince Richard probably doesn’t get out much to interact with other boys his age. The stranger thing is that Philip has never heard of him before. He doesn’t recognize him from television or magazines.

“Well, where is your crown then?”

“It’s hidden for safekeeping. But my brother is missing. Will you help me find him?” Prince Richard’s voice cracks and a single tear slips down his cheek. Philip's stomach clenches in sympathy. He really hopes Richard stops crying.

“Sure. What’s his name?” Philip says. Richard looks so sad with his small frown and his lonely eyes. He thinks that if they find Richard’s brother, Richard might be happy again.

“Edward.” Richard walks up to Philip and holds out his hand. When Philip touches him, a small shock makes his skin crawl. Richard holds on tight even when Philip tries to pull away, and the feeling soon passes.

“Okay. Where should we start?” Philip says, determined to help. 

When he looks over, Richard is smiling. But his lips are stretched very wide and his teeth look too big for his face. Philip doesn’t like his smile, so he looks away. 

“Down here,” Richard says as he tugs Philip down the hallway into a dark crawl space. Philip and Richard push cobwebs out of the way as they walk. The space is just big enough for them to stand up, but they have to walk in a single file line. The air starts to feel colder and colder, and Philip can’t see any light in front of them.

Philip starts to feel frightened, but he doesn’t want to look like a wimp in front of Richard. He wants Richard to like him. So instead, he squeezes his hand and keeps on walking. At the end of the corridor, they reach a staircase and start climbing it together. As they walk, they disturb the dust on the wood of the stairs and puffs of dust make Philip sneeze.

At the top of the stairs, there is a landing. Philip hears voices, so he goes to the edge and peers down. He can see his mom and dad!

“Hi Mom, Hi Dad!” He shouts. Richard shushes him, but Philip ignores him. He's glad to know they aren't lost.

His mom looks up at him with wide eyes, and taps his father on the shoulder. Philip can see his dad cover his mouth with his hand, like he’s frightened.

“Philip, how did you get up there?” His mother shouts.

“We need you to come back,” His father coaxes. 

Philip glances up at Richard and holds up their clasped hands for his parents to see. They shouldn’t look so frightened, because he’s not alone.

“I’m helping Prince Richard. Don’t worry, I’ll come back,” he explains.

“What?” His father says as he squints up at him.

“Honey, there’s no one there. Please, just come back,” his mother pleads.

Philip looks at Richard, and then looks back at them, dumbfounded.

“He’s right here!” Philip shouts, annoyed that his parents are lying to him. 

“It’s okay, Philip. Maybe we should keep going,” Richard whispers in his ear.

“Okay,” he whispers back. He turns back to his parents to shout, “I’m going to help him find his brother!”

He notices the way both of his parents' mouths drop open in shock. In fact, the whole group is looking up at them now. He feels weird with so many eyes on him, but he’s sure Richard must feel even worse. After all, he’s the one with the strange outfit on.

“Let’s go,” Philip says quickly. He wants to leave before Richard gets upset.

He breathes a sigh of relief as Richard pulls him away from the landing. None of the adults can reach them from down there, and Richard doesn't seem upset. As they dash away, he hears a kid laughing.

“Did you hear that?” He says excitedly. 

Richard opens his mouth and pulls his lips back to expose his teeth. Philip cringes. He’s starting to get goosebumps all over his skin because Richard won’t stop looking at him with that wide open smile. Philip starts to pull his hand away, but Richard won’t let go.

“That’s my brother for sure,” Richard says. “Don’t worry.”

There’s a nagging feeling in the back of Philip’s mind that he shouldn’t have left his parents behind. But he promised he would help Richard.

No matter how long it takes.


End file.
